CHAPTER ONE:



Lily was furious. It was so unfair that her two older brothers always got everything before she did, and even now they both got to learn magic before her. Blind with rage, she didn’t notice her brothers as they departed onto the Hogwarts Express, and for once she didn’t care where they went.



“Lily?� Her mother, Ginny, asked nervously, “Are you all right, dear?�



“Yeah, Mum,� she lied, biting her lip.



“Okay…�



After a few seconds, the train disappeared from view. Lily stared at the spot where it had just been, wishing more than anything that she could be there on that train with James and Albus, her two older brothers, making new friends and eating sweets off the trolley. But Lily knew that she had two long years more to wait before she could join them in Hogwarts. Those two years would be the most boring, uneventful years of her life, without both of her brothers at home with her during the Hogwarts school year.



Lily could almost taste her sadness in the thick, hot air. But she sensed other sorrow, too. Both her parents were looking rather teary, and they were keeping awfully quiet.



“Mum? Dad?� she asked anxiously, “Is something wrong?�



Harry laughed, ruffling Lily’s pale orange hair playfully.



“I’ll miss those two trouble-makers this year!� He smiled, and he looked a lot more lighthearted after his daughter’s question. When he saw the pained look on Lily’s face, he added, “As much as I’ll miss you when you’ll be heading off to Hogwarts as well!�



In a more serious tone, Harry softly continued, “I just hope they don’t get into too much trouble at school. It’s in their blood…�



Ron and Hermione Weasley—husband and wife—grinned at that remark, clearly amused. They were Harry’s best friends, whom he had known since his school days, and they, too, had come to see their children off to school.



Ginny smiled weakly, “Harry, with the amount of trouble we all got into in school, it’s a miracle that we’re still alive today!� Her eyes clouded, “Well, most of us, anyway.� Lily knew she was referring to the many people they had lost in the final battle with the dark Lord Voldemort, including Ginny’s brother Fred, as well as their friends Remus Lupin, Tonks, and many more. Lily hadn’t been alive at the time, but often Harry and Ginny would discuss it in an undertone at home.



Feeling that she needed to comfort her mother somehow, Lily confidently said, “They will be fine. Anyway, what else can happen at Hogwarts?"



Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione didn’t answer, but they looked at her solemnly, frowning. Suddenly, Lily wasn’t so sure of her words, and she was beginning to wish that she had properly seen her brothers off…



“Well, let’s go back home!� Harry briskly ushered Ginny and Lily back over to platform nine and three quarters, said goodbye to Ron and Hermione, and stood before the platform. Platform nine and three quarters literally was a brick wall. It was located in between platforms nine and ten, although it was not strictly a platform. Only wizards and witches could get past the platform and to the train. Platform nine and three quarters was magic.



Lily Potter was a young witch, although she did not yet possess the qualities and powers of normal, older witches—for instance, she did not own a wand and she could not cast even a simple spell. That was what Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was for. There, she would learn all that she needed to know for life in the wizarding world for seven school years, and then be on her own. But that seemed to be ages away, and Lily didn’t trouble herself with thoughts of adulthood, for now she was only nine years old and her biggest trouble was the two long years ahead of her before she could attend school.



Harry startled Lily away from her thoughts as he stepped forward toward the platform. Then he walked right through the brick wall, and vanished behind it. Ginny urged Lily forward, as well, and Lily slowly walked through it, until she reached the other side where her father was waiting. She sank into his arms, longing for her older brother James, whom she normally looked up to. A moment later, her mother joined the two, and they headed back to their non-magical car, and drove home.



λλλλ



Lily stared into the dancing flames before her. The cozy fire that her father had ignited with a quick spell was quite inviting, and so she inched toward it, careful not to let her parents notice. Although she was magical, and could easily play in the fire—even without training—her parents always managed to be extra protective around her, as if they knew something about her that was dangerous and had to be treated with caution.



Lily smiled, glad for the chance to use some magic. Then she stretched out her arm and plunged it straight into the now ruby-coloured fire. Her arm didn’t catch fire, and she grabbed a handful of flames, took it out of the fireplace, and sat by the hearth, playing happily with the blaze. As she had done this trick before, Lily knew she could turn it into pretty much anything she wanted, and so she thought of what creature she would create.



“A blaze-cat!� Lily whispered, and immediately the shapeless fire took the form of a tabby kitten, and curled up in her lap. Lily giggled joyfully, stroking the blaze-cat, but then she thought of something that she wanted more—her brothers; however, she doubted that she could turn a mere blaze into her two beloved brothers. She hadn’t yet learned even a simple spell, and so she settled for keeping her cat the way it was. Lily let out a sigh and decided to spend her time choosing a name for her kitten. She laid back, cooing softly to the cat, which was a male, and set to work on thinking up a suitable name.



“Fred,� she suddenly uttered, for she longed very much to have met her deceased uncle. The cat had flaming red fur that closely resembled her uncle’s shaggy red locks.



At the mention of his new name, Fred purred throatily and buried his little head in her arm. Lily beamed at him, caressing the warm, precious bundle of fur lovingly, and wondering what her mother would say when she found out that Lily had yet again been playing with fire…


^^^